Thoughtleadership for Successful
CRM and Sales Process

When speaking with a prospective customer, what are you trying to accomplish on the call?

Get the order?

Set an appointment?

Get answers to your questions?

The answer isn’t any of the above, but rather to move the prospect to the next step in your sales process. When working with a lead, you’re trying to gauge interest/needs/buying horizon to qualify the lead and convert them to an opportunity. When in the initial stages of working with an opportunity, you’re hoping to gather enough information to FULLY understand their needs so that you can propose a solution that will address those needs. You’re always trying to move the sale along to the next step.

Another important thing is to let your prospect know what the next step in the process is and what the goals of that step are. It takes two parties to complete a sale, make sure both are fully involved and informed. Do you know what the next step is? I’ve seen many sales professionals that can bring a sale to a certain point, but then don’t really know where they need to go to get the deal done. Have your sales process mapped out so that you and your team know what to do next. By integrating your very specific process with your CRM solution, you’ll have the entire process laid out for you so that everyone knows what to do next, bringing consistency to your entire sales team.

Make sure to set that next step with your prospect and, even more importantly, follow through on what you say you are going to do next to maintain your credibility.

A few weeks ago, my colleague Dan Rickershauser answered one of the most common/perplexing questions that professionals face in the Social Media Age - to friend, or not to friend?

There’s also another nagging issue that continuously needs to be addressed in today’s online world: professional email etiquette.

I’m sure you know what I’m talking about – those contacts that uses one too many “!!!!!’s”, “ALL CAPS, ALL THE TIME”, a scattershot of “lol’s”, that annoying “text speak” – thx, pls, idk, ttyl, and an overabundance of emoticons. Improper email etiquette can be not only annoying, it can do permanent damage to your professional credibility.

So the big question is when, if ever, is it ok to use any of the above-mentioned items?

If you want the extra short, to the point version of this blog, my answer would be never. It’s better to be safe than sorry, and leaving out all of the above is generally the best road to take. Here is a run-down of the various “don’ts” and “use sparingly's” in email etiquette.

ALL CAPS!!!!!!!!

99% of the time, the answer here is NEVER (there’s your 1% that it is acceptable). Anytime you type something in all capital letters it indicates that you’re shouting, and no one likes to be yelled at. If you’re trying to convey an important point, one or two capitalized words will still get your point across. Better yet, try bolding or italicizing (or both) your words. This still indicates that what you are trying to say is important and minimizes all of the yelling. Also, as a rule, keep the "!!!!", "???????", "?!?!?!?!?!" to a minimum. Again, one or two of these at most will suffice to communicate your excitement or confusion.

"Plz let me knw when ur avble. thnx"

Um, what?

Unless you are sending an instant message or a text message, I would never (See? The bold/italics really give that extra emphasis) see a scenario where the above sentence could be used in a professional email. I’ll be honest; even if that was sent to me in a text message, I still would have no idea what they were asking. You are not saving that much time by leaving out a few vowels, just making yourself look silly. And let’s leave the "lol", "hahahahaha" to your personal emails, text messages and IM's. If you insist on a few abbreviations, definitely leave the "lmao’s", "wtf’s" and any other inappropriate combinations out.

:^) :^(

This one is a little trickier. I, myself, love a well placed smiley face in a message but I also use them sparingly. The smiley is a fun way to end a message and to make it just a little less serious, and to convey all kinds of positive's.

Still, use them cautiously. I save the ":^)" to instant messages, and the occasional internal email, but never use them when talking to senior employees. Again, as “cute” as they may be, they can be seen as lacking in professionalism.

If you do choose to use them, think of them like question marks and exclamation points – one, two at most per email. Any more than that is going overboard.

In closing, all of the above is especially important when dealing with sales leads and prospects. Remember, these are people that you have never met and may have spoken to only a few times. You don’t want to lose a deal, or worse, your credibility, over something as silly as poor email communication.

We work hard to move a lead along from suspect, to prospect, to opportunity and then finally to placing the order and delivering the product or activating the service. But somewhere in this process things can go awry.

You spend so much time qualifying, asking the basic sales, technical and business questions to try and eliminate a few important potential deal breakers.

How long has your prospect been investigating whatever it is they think they need that your company sells?

How did they find out about your company, product or service?

Does your product or service meet their technical requirements?

Does it scale to what they need?

Does the person you are communicating with have a budget?

Is he or she the final decision maker, just a recommender or maybe just doing some research for higher-ups to sort through the plethora of suppliers and to get educated?

Maybe your lead is telling you what sounds like all the right things. So you schedule a demo or arrange some sort of trial to "learn" more. But when you've done all of these things correctly, something happens: What you think has become a real opportunity about to order goes silent, states that budget has been postponed, their CFO or CEO has some concerns, etc. Something.

So how do you protect yourself and your company from this?

Listening to what the lead says or doesn't say is critical. So often, sales people are so intent and good at explaining their product and service that they get caught up in selling, promoting, talking and not listening to some important cues from their prospects.

Gathering fundamental information about the lead or "opportunity" is critical. Is the person you are speaking with really responsible for making decisions? Who else is involved in the decision and implementation? What are their concerns and issues? How long have they been looking for your solution? Have you requested information from your lead that is important to understanding their requirements that just isn't being delivered? Do they have a current product or service that they are displeased with or are they just doing research to satisfy another decision maker.

What you have to do is listen to what is being said and what is NOT being said; what the prospect is doing and what the prospect is NOT doing.

If your prospect or other important decision makers don't show up for a conference call, if they delay delivering to you some critical information, or if they a reluctant to commit to a trial, maybe further investment of your time should be adjusted appropriately.

As a lead seems to progress from suspect to prospect to opportunity, they should reveal that they have some "skin in the game." If you feel that it isn't there or that there is reluctance on their part, use caution in committing more of your time. Listen for the cues. Prospects who are serious about your product or service want to talk with you, meet with you, and have others involved in the decision get involved with you. Those that make a decision to choose and use your product want to trust you and will in various ways reveal critical information to you - cues - about how serious they are and how committed they are to you.

This quote can apply to your professional life and personal life. Every day when I wake up, I make a conscious effort to look positively on the new day. We all have the free will to make the right choices on how we handle the tasks and obstacles of our day. Here are the 4 essential ways to keep a positive attitude and achieve success!

1. Positive Attitude and Goals

In order to succeed, you need to set goals that are both short-term and long-term. Once these goals are in place, make a plan of action to achieve them. A positive attitude along with hard work and perseverance is how you WILL obtain your goals, but it's also important to remember that progress is made in small steps. Keeping positive in your mindset is the way to achieve these goals. Do not let the enormity of your goals hold you back. Every step you take, big or small, brings you closer to the end result. Working with a positive attitude will only benefit the process.

2. Health and Attitude

Stress can actually be reduced when you maintain a positive attitude. Instead of looking at a problem as hopeless, approach it as a personal challenge. A negative attitude often causes physical ailments as well, which can result in sick time out of the office and less productivity. Just like diseases, a positive attitude is contagious and infectious. A positive attitude can be the key to your health and longevity.

3. Positive Attitude Affects Customer Relationships

If you understand and believe in the product you are selling, your customers will feed off your positive attitude. Carrying a positive assertiveness into the sales process is very important when it comes to success. If we look at the client as the opposition and feel incompetent in our skill sets we will ultimately fail. When nurturing a relationship with a client, it is very important to listen to the needs of your customer and keep an upbeat approach. People intuitively respond to your attitude and mood. Being confident in your abilities and prioritizing the needs of the clients is a formula for success.

4. Team Work

Try to stay away from negative behaviors and people. Do not blame others for issues that occur. Help co-workers problem solve and never accuse or point fingers. A saying I learned in the military is that you are only as strong as your weakest link. Cooperation with one another, along with everyone understanding their individual role is crucial. A helpful attitude along with a willingness to help one achieve a goal makes a strong team. Positivity equals productivity and TEAM success!

Because I like to keep tabs on what’s going on in my industry, and because I’m a generally curious person, I decided to do a search of all of the different CRM solutions someone could choose from. This simple competitive survey turned up 106 CRM solutions in the marketplace! And that was just a simple search. Ugh, where should I start?

As the CEO of a company that provides a web-based CRM product, the plethora of solutions presents differentiation challenges for us as a company. But the challenges are even greater when you’re an individual trying to evaluate the potential solutions for use within a company.

Here’s my suggestion on the seven questions you should ask your CRM vendor to simplify the evaluation process and help select the CRM Solution that is the right solution for you - and for your organization.

1. What is your market focus?

One way to whittle the list of potential vendors to a much shorter number is to consider the “market focus” of the vendor. For example, an SMB should never consider a CRM solution focused on enterprise accounts. The reverse is true as well. I find many companies waste time with vendors where market focus is not aligned.

2. Will your CRM solve my most pressing problems?

Once you are convinced the vendor has the right “market focus,” you need to make sure the solution solves your company's most pressing marketing, sales, or service issues. I’ve found the list of issues can vary wildly from company to company. You need to make sure upfront that you know what problems you are trying to solve with a CRM system.

CRM’s have hundreds of features, reports and tools. If none of them address the issues you are trying to solve, then the long list of checkmarked features is meaningless. Talk to the CRM vendors you are evaluating and share the exact problems or challenges you are experiencing. Be sure to get visual confirmation that the solution can address your most important issues.

3. Can I take a test drive the CRM with my data?

One of the best ways to see if the solution can solve your biggest challenges is to take a test drive with YOUR data. Ask the CRM vendor to have contacts, opportunities, tasks, events, and sales processes uploaded into the CRM. This will allow you to test the CRM solution with familiar data and insure that it will be a good fit for your organization.

Be sure to also ask for help uploading the data to make sure it’s configured correctly from the start. You’d be surprised at how easy it is to set things up wrong and then not know why, immediately making your experience more difficult than necessary. Besides, a good CRM company should be ready – and willing - to help you set things up.

4. Who’s going to help me set-up my CRM and train my salesforce?

If your vendor has satisfactory answers for the first three questions, the next thing you want to consider is what types of set-up, support, and professional services are offered to help make your CRM’s operation and adoption successful. Do they have a professional services group that can help provide the expertise you need to get the system customized and up and running? Next, evaluate what type of help is available to help you train your sales team.

You may also want to ask the question whether this training is an internal or external resource and the cost. I’ve found that no one is better equipped to launch, train and support a new customer like the provider of the solution (vs. an outside third party or consultant).

5. What does your product roadmap look like over the next 6-12 months? Do I have a an opportunity to add in your comments, suggestions, or wishes?

Like all software companies, CRM providers do not have unlimited engineering budgets. You should however, make sure there is a product roadmap that fits with your strategic needs and wants as a customer. You should also make sure there is a feedback mechanism (product council, advisory board, suggestion list, etc.) where you have the ability to voice your opinion on what features you would like to see in the product.

6. How easy is it to customize your solution for my business?

Your needs and requirements are very different from everyone else’s, and yes, those needs will change over time. Ask the right questions during the buying process to make sure you are comfortable that the CRM system is easy enough to customize now, AND as the needs of your business change.

If you bring in a new head of sales, they will want the system to be changed to reflect any new strategies, tactics and sales processes. You will need to make modifications to your CRM system to support this shift in direction. Your CRM needs to be flexible enough to make this change simple and easy.

You also want to make sure you can add all the custom fields necessary to fit your business model as well as be able to customize or build any unique reports.

Finally, ask whether there’s a cost involved in having someone help you if you need specialized customization.

7. Ok, so what’s the price?

This should be your last question. Your major goal should be to ask the right questions to buy the right solution for your business. Price of course is important, but should be secondary to the above questions. You want to make sure you are investing enough to buy a service that addresses your most pressing business problems and one that can grow with your organization. The costs and damages associated with buying the wrong CRM solution will far exceed the higher price tag of a CRM Solution that is right for your organization.

The bottom line: determine your needs, ask the right questions and then take the CRM for a test drive with your data. Because a CRM system is something you and your organization should expect to live with for a long time, investing a little effort at the beginning will pay big divedends in the long run.